Introductory workshop
A practical introduction to grounded theory
Learn the method by working with it.
This live online workshop introduces the practice of grounded theory through explanation, discussion and hands-on analytical work. You will begin to explore how grounded theory moves from data towards concepts and, ultimately, theory.
Next online session
Wednesday 11 November 2026
09:30 London / Dublin (UTC+1)
17:30 Perth (UTC+8)
Duration: approximately 2–3 hours · Online via Zoom
£75 doctoral students · £95 faculty
Learn by doing
Grounded theory makes more sense when you use it.
The workshop introduces the grounded theory process through practice as well as explanation. You can listen and learn, bring your research plans into the discussion, or work with sample material provided in the session.
The aim is not to send you away with a list of rules. It is to help you understand the grounded theory process, why its analytical procedures matter, and how the choices you make can influence the way your study develops.
Planning your study
What will we work through?
Is grounded theory a good fit?
Consider what you want to understand, the substantive area you want to explore and whether grounded theory is an appropriate way to investigate it.
How should the study begin?
Think through early research design and data collection choices, and how to create enough openness for the analysis to influence what happens next.
What do the terms mean?
Clarify the language of incidents, indicators, codes, concepts and categories by seeing how they are used in analysis rather than learning definitions in isolation.
Try the analytical process
Practise the procedures that make grounded theory work.
We will work hands-on with data so that you can see how coding, comparison and memoing work together
Open coding
Work closely with incidents in the data and begin generating codes that express what is happening.
Constant comparison
Compare incidents and codes to sharpen meaning, notice variation and begin developing conceptual properties.
Memoing
Capture your analytical thinking so that ideas can develop, connect and guide the next stage of the research.
You can take part in the way that suits you.
You may arrive with a well-developed research idea, a very early question, or simply curiosity about whether grounded theory could work for you. There is no need to discuss your own study unless you would find that useful.
This is a hands-on workshop, and participants are invited to engage with the practical exercises.
- Listen and learn if that is what you need.
- Ask questions as they arise.
- Bring your research plans into the conversation if you wish.
- Work with your own anonymised material or with the sample data provided.
Continue study afterwards
A practical companion to the workshop
Using Grounded Theory: How to Develop Theory for Managed Change takes the practical approach further, with exercises, illustrations and a mini-project that you can work through at your own pace.
Not sure whether this is the right place to start?
Tell me what you are planning or where you are in your study, and I can help you decide whether the workshop, mentoring or another form of support would be more useful.